Ancient Woods, Trees and Forests

As trees age, they become ecologically richer and more full of life. The process of a tree, wood or forest becoming ‘ancient’, however defined, involves a vast and subtle web of relations – among the trees themselves, with other organisms, with the wider landscape and with human beings. A single tree can provide a vast array of habitats which are an integral part of the complex co-evolutionary relationships evolved over its lifetime and later during its sometimes long afterlife. From ancient times until today, trees and woods have inspired artists, writers and scientists; they have shaped cultures and reverberated through belief systems. Yet worldwide, forest cover has declined dramatically over the last 1,000 years, and what remains has been more or less altered from its original condition. Today, ‘virgin forests’ are only to be found at a few sites unreachable by humans, and even then they are affected by climate change, atmospheric pollution and species extinctions. The aim of this book is to help an understanding of the web of connections relating to ancient trees and woodlands, and to offer techniques to ensure effective conservation and sustainability of this precious resource. This book considers the key issues from a range of different aspects and varied geographical locations, beginning with fundamental concepts and reflecting on the strengths and limitations of the idea of ancient trees. Individual chapters then deal with cultural heritage, the archaeology of trees, landscape history, forest rights, tree management, saproxylic insects, the importance of dead wood, practical conservation and monitoring, biodiversity, and wood pasture among many other themes. Fresh perspectives are put forward from across Europe as far as Turkey, as well as Great Britain. Overall, given the urgent need to discover, understand, conserve and restore ancient woodlands and trees, this publication will raise awareness, foster enthusiasm and inspire wonder.

Rasprostranjenost i najmanja veličina populacije euroazijskog risa (Lynx lynx) u Hrvatskoj u razdoblju 2018.–2020.

Scientific data on distribution and abundance of endangered species are the foundation for their effective conservation and management. In this paper, we present results of the first scientifically – based estimation of lynx population size in Croatia. The goal of the study was to determine the area of lynx distribution and to estimate the minimum size of lynx population in Croatia in the period 2018 - 2020. To determine lynx distribution, 902 signs of lynx presence were collected in the period from the beginning of May 2018 until the end of April 2020. Out of those, 92.8% of lynx observations were categorized as C1, 2.8% as C2 and 4.4% as C3. Permanent lynx presence was confirmed in Primorsko – Goranska and Ličko – Senjska county, in southern part of Karlovac county and north-eastern part of Zadar county on the total surface of 7200 km2. For the minimum population size estimation, 804 camera trap photographs led to identification of 89 – 108 adult lynxes. Among 108 identified individuals there were 29 females, 22 males, while for 7 animals the sex was not determined. During the two reproductive seasons, we photographed 44 cubs in 25 litters. Future important steps in lynx population monitoring are correcting the deficiencies identified in this study and implementation of methodology that will allow us to use spatial capture recapture models for estimation of lynx abundance in Croatia.

Population genomic analysis provides strong evidence of the past success and future strategies of South China tiger breeding

The South China tigers (Panthera tigris amoyensis) are extinct in the wild, but viable populations remain in breeding centers and zoos after 60 years of effective conservation efforts. At present, however, the existing genetic variation of these tigers remains unknown. In this study, we assembled a high-quality chromosome-level genome using long-read sequences and re-sequenced 29 high-depth genomes of the South China tigers. We identified two significantly differentiated genomic ancestries in the extant populations, which also harbored some rare genetic variants introgressed from other subspecies, suggesting limited but essential genetic diversity to sustain the South China tigers. The unique pattern of dual ancestry and the genomic resources generated in our study pay the way for a genomics-informed conservation, following the real-time monitoring and controlled exchange of all reproductive South China tigers.

Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia

Deforestation is a major threat to terrestrial tropical ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia where human activities have dramatic consequences for the survival of many species. However, responses of species to anthropogenic impact are highly variable. In order to establish effective conservation strategies, it is critical to determine a species’ ability to persist in degraded habitats. Here, we used camera trapping data to provide the first insights into the temporal and spatial distribution of southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina, listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN) across intact and degraded forest habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, with a particular focus on the effects of clear-cutting and selective logging on macaque occupancy. Specifically, we found a 10% decline in macaque site occupancy in the highly degraded Pasoh Forest Reserve from 2013 to 2017. This may be strongly linked to the macaques’ sensitivity to intensive disturbance through clear-cutting, which significantly increased the probability that M. nemestrina became locally extinct at a previously occupied site. However, we found no clear relationship between moderate disturbance, i.e., selective logging, and the macaques’ local extinction probability or site occupancy in the Pasoh Forest Reserve and Belum-Temengor Forest Complex. Further, an identical age and sex structure of macaques in selectively logged and completely undisturbed habitat types within the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex indicated that the macaques did not show increased mortality or declining birth rates when exposed to selective logging. Overall, this suggests that low to moderately disturbed forests may still constitute valuable habitats that support viable populations of M. nemestrina, and thus need to be protected against further degradation. Our results emphasize the significance of population monitoring through camera trapping for understanding the ability of threatened species to cope with anthropogenic disturbance. This can inform species management plans and facilitate the development of effective conservation measures to protect biodiversity.

Viability and infectivity of Ceratobasidium encapsulated in alginate beads under different storage conditions

Mycorrhizal fungi are important partners of orchids because they establish close symbiotic relationships with this group of plants, and its preservation is also important for the successful conservation of orchids. In the present study, the conservation of Ceratobasidium sp., a fungal symbiont, using encapsulation in alginate beads was tested over different times, temperatures of storage and dehydrated conditions. Osmotically dehydrated and air-dried beads were stored at room temperature (20 ± 2°C), 4°C, -20°C and - 80°C. The fungal growth was verified after 4, 8, 26 and 96 weeks. A second test was carried out to evaluate the encapsulations of fungi as a form of inoculation in Trichoceros antennifer orchid to promote symbiosis and plants development. The results show that the encapsulation of Ceratobasidium in alginate beads is a viable strategy for its conservation, the beads are of easy manipulation and promote plant growth when inoculated in plant substrate. These results may be adopted as part of effective conservation strategies for mycorrhizal fungi and orchids.

Fragmentation of Coastal Grasslands by Plantations and Spontaneous Spread of Invasive Pines in the Southern Pampa

Coastal dunes of the southern Buenos Aires province, in Argentina, are one of the last remnants of biodiversity in the southern Pampa unit, within the Rio de la Plata Grasslands. While the direct loss of grasslands due to the advance of cities and afforestation is conspicuous, the negative effects of the subdivision of the remaining environments on biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics are less considered. Our work aimed to analyze the combined effect of fires and subdivision of grasslands by invasive alien trees. Our results suggest that fragmentation affects the resilience of coastal grasslands after fire and affects the course of succession, promoting the establishment of invasive alien plants. We also suggest that fires favor the advance of pines and acacias towards the interior of grassland remnants, further reducing their area. The effective conservation of the components of Pampas biodiversity that still persist in these coastal ecosystems will depend on preventing, mitigating and compensating the insularization effects associated with forest plantations and the expansion of invasive trees, by means of adequate territorial planning that allows remnants to be maintained in a good state of conservation.

Seasonal and regional differences in migration patterns and conservation status of Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides) in the East Asian Flyway

Background The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) breeds across Mongolia and adjacent China and Russia and winters exclusively in China. It is globally threatened, showing long-term major range contractions and declining abundance, linked to habitat loss and degradation. We remain ignorant about the biogeographical subpopulation structure of the species and potential differences in their migration timing, stopovers and schedules, information that could be vital to effective conservation of different elements of the species population, which we address here with results from a telemetry study. Methods In 2017–2018, we attached GPS/GSM telemetry devices to 238 Swan Geese on moulting sites in three discrete parts of their summering area (Dauria International Protected Area, Central Mongolia and Western Mongolia), generating 104 complete spring and autumn migration episodes to compare migration speed and nature between birds of different summer provenances. Results Birds from all three breeding areas used almost completely separate migration routes to winter sympatrically in the Yangtze River floodplain. Although many features of the spring and autumn migrations of the three groups were similar, despite the significantly longer migration routes taken by Western Mongolian tagged birds, birds from Dauria Region arrived significantly later in winter due to prolonged staging in coastal areas and took longer to reach their breeding areas in spring. Among birds of all breeding provenances, spring migration was approximately twice as fast as autumn migration. Areas used by staging Swan Geese (mainly wetlands) in autumn and spring almost never fell within national level protected areas, suggesting major site safeguard is necessary to protect these critical areas. Conclusions This study showed the discreteness of migration routes taken by birds of different summer provenances and differences in their migratory patterns, highlighting key staging areas (Yalu River Estuary in China/North Korea for Dauria Region breeding birds, Daihai Lake for Central Mongolian and Ordos Basin for Western Mongolian birds). Based on this new knowledge of the biogeographical subpopulation structure of the Swan Goose, we need to combine data on subpopulation size, their distribution throughout the annual life cycle and conservation status, to develop more effective conservation strategies and measures to reverse population decline throughout the range.

Epigenetic models developed for plains zebras predict age in domestic horses and endangered equids

Effective conservation and management of threatened wildlife populations require an accurate assessment of age structure to estimate demographic trends and population viability. Epigenetic aging models are promising developments because they estimate individual age with high accuracy, accurately predict age in related species, and do not require invasive sampling or intensive long-term studies. Using blood and biopsy samples from known age plains zebras (Equus quagga), we model epigenetic aging using two approaches: the epigenetic clock (EC) and the epigenetic pacemaker (EPM). The plains zebra EC has the potential for broad application within the genus Equus given that five of the seven extant wild species of the genus are threatened. We test the EC’s ability to predict age in sister taxa, including two endangered species and the more distantly related domestic horse, demonstrating high accuracy in all cases. By comparing chronological and estimated age in plains zebras, we investigate age acceleration as a proxy of health status. An interaction between chronological age and inbreeding is associated with age acceleration estimated by the EPM, suggesting a cumulative effect of inbreeding on biological aging throughout life.

Year-Round Movements of Sooty Terns (Onychoprion fuscatus) Nesting Within One of the Atlantic’s Largest Marine Protected Areas

Seabirds are among the most threatened birds as a result of acute exposure to many anthropogenic threats. Their effective conservation requires a detailed understanding of how seabirds use marine habitats. Recently, one of the largest no-take marine reserves in the Atlantic was designated in tropical waters surrounding Ascension Island, on which the largest Atlantic population of sooty terns (Onychoprion fuscatus) breeds. Although they are the most abundant tropical seabird, they appear to have suffered marked population declines on Ascension Island as they have elsewhere. Here, we describe year-round movements and habitat use of male and female sooty terns between 2011 and 2015. On average, birds traveled 47,000 km during their 8 months of migration, during which they remained within 2,900 km of the island. They spent most of the day and night in flight, only touching down briefly on the ocean most likely to feed. Habitat suitability models successfully predicted foraging ranges of birds and their at-sea distributions varied considerably between seasons, years and sexes. Considerable variation in range overlap between birds and the new marine protected area (MPA) suggests that similar such studies of other marine taxa are urgently needed. The range of sooty terns mainly falls in the high seas outside of the new MPA, highlighting the very large areas that many oceanic seabirds forage across and the challenges their conservation present.

Exploring Effective Conservation of Charismatic Flora: Orchids in Armenia as a Case Study

Plants are the bedrock of life on Earth but are increasingly threatened with extinction. The most cost-effective way of conserving plant diversity is through Protected Areas (PAs). However, the locality, size, and management of PAs are crucial for effectively maintaining diversity and have been criticized as currently inadequate. Using Armenia as our study site and orchids as our study taxa, we sought to (1) identify spatial patterns of orchid diversity hotspots and corresponding PA network sites; (2) examine if the current PA network is effective at capturing orchid species richness and diversity and (3) explore the relationship between the range of area suitability of species and level of protection. We used data collected from herbarium, field visits and GBIF occurrence records. Using freely available mapping software, we created heatmaps of observations and species richness. We compared PA sites based on the number of species (species richness) and diversity (Shannon–Weiner Index). Species range was developed using the MaxEnt model and a correlation analysis was performed against the proportion of the range within PA. We found that 57% of PA sites have a representation of at least one species of orchid, but some threatened species are not presented within any PA site. The Tavush and Syunik province not only held the highest species richness (>10 species), but the PA network within also held high orchid diversity (2.5 diversity index value for Dilijan National Park). We did not find a significant relationship between the range of area suitability for orchids and protection; however, all our target species had less than 30% of their range under protection. Our study highlights important challenges related to the limitations of available data, and we discuss these implications towards effective conservation outcomes for orchids for the region.